The Friend Zone
Mercy had chosen music, it was a fact that was always going to happen, everyone knew it so it was no big deal when she said goodbye in the auditorium and went off on her travels. Four year later and she was reaping the benefits, living a lavish life in her mini four bed mansion, everything looking lavish in white and gold, life in Beverley Hills was fun. There were men, her life had been varied, she'd kept her word though, when she was ready, at the prime age of 22 would you believe, she'd gone back to Sam, now living in Los Angeles, done the deed, said her final goodbye and they'd gone their separate ways, agreeing to stay in the friend zone.
Sam had pursued his art and moved to Los Angeles for study and stayed there after that for work, he'd brought himself a studio flat with two bedrooms in the heart of the city. He kept in contact with Mercy, after their hot month, mainly via phone, due to their busy lifestyles, he'd agreed that for both of them that chapter of their lives was over, they'd known with conviction, they'd always have a love for each other, otherwise they wouldn't have taken the promise so seriously, but they wanted different things and they both knew that, hence the emergence of the friend zone.
26 years old
But now she felt like everything in her life, as she'd dreamt it, was near achievement and the only thing missing was her man, she was ready for love, commitment and a family
"I think I'm ready to settle down now" she told Sam over the phone
"Really?" he asked shocked "Only it was only maybe a month ago you said you hated men" he laughed
"Well that was because they were taking control of my life, but I took your advice, kicked some dead wood to the curb and I don't know, I guess I'm ready"
"Really?" he asked again still not confident she was being true to herself
"I'm not about to get some totty and walk them all the way to the alter, have all my friends attend and then ditch him like a certain friend I know, if that's what you're getting at" she laughed
"Come on you said she wasn't the right fit, If I listen to no one else I listen to you" he said "No way was I going to go through with that after that dressing down you gave me"
"You're special Sam you need a special girl, you'll find her" she told him "So" she blew "All things considered what do you think about me settling down?"
"If you feel you're ready and I think he's worthy great, I'll be happy for you when you find him" he giggled "And I can't wait to meet your babies"
"Babies I haven't found Mr Right yet" she laughed
"I don't need you using any of our moves, we agreed right" he said seriously down the phone
"I wouldn't tell you shit like that anyway" she laughed
"I'm serious" he said stopping her laugh
"You know I like my games but okay, Avatar, our box and Ice Cream are definitely out" she laughed
27 years old
"Hey" Mercy said down the phone when she heard Sam call her name
"Hey you, where you been?" he asked "I've been ringing off your phone, you're ignoring me, what's up?
"Oh I've been busy you know, music and finding husband material" she giggled, down the phone
"You found somebody?" he asked excited
"Well he's sweet you know and ..." she lingered saying "We've been dating for a while, he's cute" she giggled "He just spends a lot of time with me you know, and I don't get the chance to sit and talk to my friends" she told him
"As in no time for me?" he asked
"I have time now" she smiled "That's why I'm calling my best friend to fill him in"
"So what's he like?"
"Sam" she said excited now the formalities were over "His name's Glen and he's the shit" she giggled "He kisses me every morning, brings me breakfast in bed, sends me flowers, plays my games, not our ones" she quickly added "And he gives good hugs" she laughed "Sam I can't be away from him for too long I'm totally smitten"
"Sounds like something"
"I'm hoping it is I'm meeting his family next weekend" she said waiting for his reaction
"Meeting the family?" he asked "How long have you known him?"
"Two months and he's cool" she giggled
"What does he do?"
"Well nothing at the moment, but he's looking for work in computer graphics or something"
"So let me get this straight and Mercy don't go all Diva on me because you'd be doing the same if it was me in your shoes"
"Okay"
"You don't stay away from him too long is that Days, weeks, hours, minutes what?"
"Honestly" she looked at the clock on the wall saying "Maybe minutes rather than hours"
"Okay so here goes shit" Sam said taking a breath "If he's seriously looking for work in whatever, computers did you say?"
"Yeah"
"When does he find time to do that?" he asked "I mean who pays for all these luxury gifts and things he gives you, where does he get his money from?"
"Maybe he has savings" she suggested
"You know where this conversation is coming from Pretty, check your pay roll"
"I love you too Sam and I will"
"Okay" he smiled down the phone "Only a player knows a player and all that"
"Okay you know what's coming next" she giggled
"Everyone's fine nothing new to report except I'm seeing this girl , she's not the girl but she's fun"
"Spill" Mercy said excitedly
"Well her name's Claire, she's a hairdresser and she likes country music"
"And?"
"And she likes me, a lot"
"So how does she make you feel Sam, come on dirt?" she said frustrated down the phone
"She's alright in bed but as I said the chemistry isn't there for me"
"But you're treating her right?"
"Of course, what kind of question is that?"
"You know where it's coming from, I need you to find happiness Sam, I care about you"
"I know Diva" he said getting quiet for a second "Anyway send your next single soon"
"I will, you know that, and I want your next edition too"
"It's on it's way" he laughed "I guess it's time to go, I count 40 minutes away from Mr Glen, you must be in withdrawal"
"I guess you need to get back to that hairdresser of yours" she laughed "I won't make it so long next time, I'll call soon, bye Sam"
"Alright, Bye Mercy"
Mercy
Mercy put the phone down and thought about what Sam had said, Glen was cute, charming even but seriously where did he get his money from, and why was Sam thinking he was getting it from her, she hadn't given him a penny. They had been to expensive restaurants, he'd brought her a very expensive chain for no specific reason, could she be missing something? "Clayton" she said down the phone when he answered "I need you to check something out for me, or should I say someone"
Clayton was her private investigator, well not hers but she used him a lot, he was someone Sam had put her onto a while back when she thought she was being swindled by her first record company and she was, and she'd kept hold of him. When it came to her business she had everyone checked out but checking out boyfriends was a new twist for her, how did he get near her, if she trusted the people who worked for her, she'd seriously never thought it possible till now
"His name's Glen Adams" she said telling Clayton his details with a heavy heart, she'd developed feelings for the man, but she knew Sam too and he never said things lightly "Could you check where he gets his money from too" she added feeling guilty "I need this information urgently" she told Clayton before closing the call down
That evening she thought she'd give him the opportunity to come clean about anything he was hiding, so as they sat in yet another expensive restaurant eating, she broached the subject "Glen" she said looking down at her plate and taking a deep breath before carrying on "I have questions" she looked at him saying "I'm investing in this relationship and I just need to tie some things up"
"That's good to hear" he smiled attempting to grab for her hand, but she moved it "Okay lets hear it" he sat up saying
"Do you work?"
"You know I don't, I'm trying to get into computer graphics, you know this" he looked at her puzzled
"So" she said hesitating before looking him in the eye and asking "Where do you get your money from?"
"I have worked in the past, I have savings and inheritance money" he told her looking her straight back in the eyes as he spoke
"So you're not doing anything dodgy?"
"Hell no, and if I were with any other girl I wouldn't be talking about finding work, but you babe are high maintenance" he laughed making her smile with some relief, she sat wondering why she was paying Clayton a ton of money to find out what she'd just asked in less than five minutes and carried on eating as they engaged in usual conversation and ended the evening happy.
"Mercy" Clayton said down the phone when she picked up two days later "I need to see you for this, don't tell anyone where you're going" he said, giving her instructions to get to him, an hour later they were sitting in The Cove with drinks in front of them "He's not Glen Adams, he's Glen Davis does that ring any bells?"
"No, why should it?"
"As in Robert Davis" he said waiting for a light to come on
"Who Rob, he's been my agent since forever" she told him wide eyed "You checked him out for me" she looked at him saying
"I did but over the past six months, he's received a pay rise, did you know that?"
"No" she said angrily "How much?"
"His pay has almost doubled" he told her holding her hand to say something else "But sixty percent of that rise goes out to an account in the name of Glen Davis" he looked at her saying "As in Glen Adams" he told her "So what you thought was happening is happening" he looked at her saying "Should I leave you to deal with this?"
"You should" Mercy said tears in her eyes as Clayton got up and left her at the bar with her thoughts, her new mix coming to the forefront making her smile as she was actually sitting there playing out her new song Worlds Apart' by LeToya Luckett in her mind 'Mercy sat with mixed feelings Glen had somehow got past security and stepped all over her heart, now she knew how, someone everyone had trusted had allowed that to happen and after 6 long years of working with the man like he was a brother, he turned out to be the enemy, now she knew she had enemies she was going to treat them as such' "Jenn" she called when her solicitor answered the phone "We have house to clean"
"My office 30 minutes" Jenn replied and the conversation ended
Thirty minutes later Mercy was sitting in Jennifer's office telling her the situation and asking her the best way to get out of it "The best route is maybe to wait out this contract because he could have you fighting the cause for the duration, or.." Jenn informed her "I guess you could maybe bring another tier in above him and get them to manage your finances, or negotiate his exit against his freedom, that's legal"
"I have just the person" Mercy smiled taking some more advice before closing the meeting down and returning home. She made a call to Quinn, her friend from school, and set up a meeting to sort out her accounts, and asked her to find someone local who was trustworthy to manage them
She sat for the longest while thinking about all the things Glen and her had done in preparation for settling down, got upset before doing some planning, finally sitting on her couch excited but scared there was only one voice she needed to hear right now so she called him "Sam" she said when he answered the phone "You were right but I'm sorting it all out"
"Stop with the acting, I know you're crapping yourself right now, but I got you girl, you're fierce, I know you can do this" he didn't need to hear he was right
"It's a bit more than I thought though" she said before she went through the whole story as Clayton had given it to her, what she'd done since, ending with what she was about to do
"Shit do you need me to come up there?" he asked genuinely concerned
"I'd love for you to come up right now, but is that possible?"
"For you anything's possible, I'll be there later tonight"
"Wait" she said doing the action as if he could see her "Wait, what about Claire is she alright with this?"
"She's fine with it, she's a open book" he laughed "I'll see you tonight" he told her
"Tonight" she said putting the phone down semi-happy that Sam was coming, too happy if she checked herself, but seriously she needed somebody there for her
Sam
He'd sort of taken that wham bam thank you Sam with Mercy a bit hard, he'd got plans for the both of them, life plans maybe but she wasn't up for it and he had to work with that and quickly get into this friend zone thing. As a massive rebound he'd hooked up with Nancy, she was like 5 years older than him and, if he was honest, there was no attraction unless you count distraction. So when Mercy came up for the stag night and gave him a ripping, when she met Nancy, he knew he wasn't going through with it, not because of Mercy but because he really didn't love her. He'd stood up front and centre at church waited for Nancy to start walking down the aisle before he clapped his hands and said "Alright, stop, no freaking way" and walked off with their friends following him and although they went into him for maybe a minute they were smiling wider than him and patting his back for finding himself 90 seconds later. He'd kept contact with most of the group but he spoke to Mercy the most and she really had become his best friend actually, truth, he'd made sure of that
He was dating just as hard as she was, if she found someone he did and visa versa, they were in an unspoken competition to erase each other and get on with their lives, it brought excitement sometimes.
Claire had happened into his life, he was on his way to work one morning, in a world of his own when for some reason he ordered two coffee's and two buns, don't ask what he was thinking, but when he walked out the shop he realised what he'd done as he bumped into someone going into the shop "Sorry" he said looking down at this woman he'd knocked "Are you ordering coffee?" he asked
"Yeah" she said looking at him quizzically
"I ordered an extra one do you want it?" he asked holding the tray out he'd just nearly thrown over her
"Errr Yeah" she said smiling at him, taking it
"I have an extra bun too" he held the bag up saying
"Don't mind if I do" she said and that was it, one breakfast turned into a few dinners and then suddenly he was eating breakfast in her flat and it seemed to go without mention that they were seeing each other
If he had to think about what they were doing he'd have called it friend with benefits at a stretch, she wasn't a friend not like his friends but she was company and he needed company. He hadn't questioned what it was until he'd had that conversation with Mercy about Glen, he wasn't rushing to make her breakfast or buying her flower or any of that shit. He was getting to her house at the very end of his day falling into bed with hardly a word said grabbing food in the morning and gone again without a thought for her until it was bedtime again, if he felt like going to hers that is. He sat smiling at Mercy's excitement over Glen the other day and wondered if Claire felt like that about him "No" he told himself getting up to get to work to hear his phone ringing, rolling his eyes 'what's she up to now' thinking Mercy
"Sam we need to talk" Claire said shocking him
"I'm just leaving to get to work, is it important?"
"To me it is yeah, can I meet you at the cafe and walk to work with you?"
"Sure" he said rolling his eyes "Twenty minutes"
"Fine" she said closing the call down
They met at the café, she already had his order in her hand waiting for him outside, he smiled as he got closer to her "Morning" he said kissing her and taking the food she was offering "Thanks"
"Morning" she smiled up at him "I needed to speak to you, I've been up all night thinking about us and what we are and I guess I didn't or should I say couldn't remember when we decided to be together" she looked at him saying
"Maybe because we didn't" he looked at her saying wondering how he was going to flatten this shit down quick without making any commitments
"Well I guess I'm not actually asking for us to be a couple as such, at least not exclusive anyway" she told him "I want to see other people" she told him
"That's fine" he told her smiling with relief "I want to see other people too, great minds" he grinned saying
"So you don't mind us carrying on with whatever this is?"
"I don't mind at all, whatever this is" he told her cheekily as they got to his work place, he kissed her cheek and walked away, he was waiting for the lift when his phone rings again this time it was Mercy telling him her revelations about Glen. He wanted to stretch down the phone and get hold of Glen's damn neck for hurting her that way but he settled for a calm "Do you need me to come up there?" and smiled when she admitted she needed him. She was his friend, his best friend now a days and he understood that, but was his heart ever going to get with that programme? So that evening he jumped in his car and headed to Beverly Hills to see Mercy
Sam & Mercy
"Mercy" he said hugging her when he got into her semi-mansion "old place still looks the same as white as ever" he laughed
"Sam" she said falling into him "You were only here less than a month ago" she giggled "Thanks for coming"
"No charge, in a heartbeat" he held onto her saying
"Drink?" she asked pulling way from him
"Please" he smiled at what he knew she'd felt
"I'm blushing I know" she rubbed her face saying as she walked away, her head banging on that new tune 'Show me' by LeToya Luckett "You know you're fuckable, we both know what that feels like and yeah sometimes I miss it but, chapter closed, friend zone remember?" she laughed
"Chapter closed, friend zone" he laughed
"So Claire how is she?" she asked as she walked back towards him with a drink in her hand
"Claire has requested an open relationship so she can get her mac on with whoever and I kissed her and agreed with it" he told her as he took the drink while Mercy stood with her mouth in a O shape listening
"Open relationship?" she asked as Sam nodded "You wouldn't do that Sam, why did you agree to that?" she asked as they walked towards the couch
"Oh it was just easier than going through all the fuck off stuff" he told her
"Chicken" she laughed "And no, we are not jumping into bed, is that clear?" she asked him sitting on the couch as she spoke
"As that crystal round your neck" he smiled "Still looks good on you" he said touching it as he sat beside her
"Reminds me of my first" she smiled
"You'd remember me without it" he frowned
"I would" she said giving him the eyes
"So Glen, what's the plan?" he asked spinning round to totally face her, putting his leg up on the couch in the process as she did the same
"This is so much bigger than Glen, it's Robert, maybe Richard and Sandra too" she said as she started telling him the detail of what Clayton had uncovered, what Jennifer had said and what Quinn had helped her put in place
"So Sandra's the new accountant?"
"Yeah, why?"
"She sounds sexy" he laughed as she slapped him on the arm playfully
"She is I suppose" she replied looking at him
Sam stared back at her thinning his eyes, he saw jealous in her eyes with that look, it was only for a second but he saw it "Don't worry I wouldn't dream of peeing on your patch" he told her making her smile "I'm here for you Mercy Jones" he touched her knee saying
"And I'm happy your here with me Sam" she told him taking care not to look into his eyes for too long "I'll be ready in an hour" she jumped up saying
"Yeah" he said laughing as she went
"What?" she turned to asked the smile already on her face, because she knew
"You're using everything you have to fight this" he told her
"Yeah I am because we already had this damn conversation, I need to be who you need me to be and you need to get yourself a wife" she laughed "I'm getting dressed" she waved as she wiggled her ass out the room and he watched 'Get myself a wife' he laughed thinking 'A day after you get yourself a husband'
"Ready" she told him 50 minutes later as she walked down from her bedroom back to the open plan living space "How do I look?" she asked
"Like your ready to do some damage" he smiled as he stood up
"Oh you changed too" she looked at him saying "You've done your damage" she laughed getting to him and grabbing his hand as they went towards the door, into the car and to the restaurant, to see Glen already sitting round the table, she smiled imagining that last scene of her last hit 'Back to Life' by LeToya Luckett playing out right now, "Yep nothing" she smiled up at Sam saying as they walked
"Glen" she said as Sam pulled her chair out for her to sit in and Glen got up to go kiss her
"Glen" Sam said shaking his hand smiling
"Sam's visiting" she turned her face away from his approaching mouth so he kissed her cheek as she spoke "So I won't beat around the bush" she looked at him saying as he sat down and picked his drink up to sip "This isn't working Glen for several reasons"
"And what you had to bring a fucking body guard, and crowd, to tell me that?" he spat out hurt, looking at the empty seats at the table
"Look just say we're both in the picture now" she spat back looking up to see Jenn and the others coming towards them "They're early" she told Sam as he got up to greet them
"Jen" Sam smiled as he went to her for a hug "Long time"
"Sam" she said returning his hug
"Richard, Robert" he said shaking their hands too
"Everyone this is Sandra" Mercy announced as they all sat down at the table "Call this a meeting" she announced "And Sam's here to support me" she told everyone as Glen and Robert looked at each other "Could you take our order?" she asked the waiter who came immediately to do as she'd asked. 30 minutes later and everyone was eating and conversations were fairly social as Glen sat watching Mercy for most the time and Sam put his false smile on "Okay" Mercy finally said cutting her eye at Glen as she spoke "I've called you all here because I need to make some changes" she told them, grabbing Sam's hand and looking at him before she started talking again
By the time the police arrived she had demoted Richard and Robert introducing their new boss Sandra, and Glen had been exposed for who he really was, eventually Robert and Glen were arrested "I guess this house is clean" Mercy said as she held her hand up asking for the bill, "Rob" she called after him as the Police walked him away "We can go through this long drawn out process to sever this contract or you can take the deal my solicitor will be offering you" she told him before turning to Jenn, Sandra and Richard to say thank you and goodnight, leaving the venue with Sam
"Thanks for being here Sam" she said kissing his cheek as they entered her house after he'd been reliving the night with full excitement all the way home "I couldn't have done it without you" she told him as he pulled her back in and kissed her full on "Sam no" she eventually pulled away saying "We agreed" she told him
"Yeah we did" he said letting her go "Sorry"
"Seriously, we've got to stop with all these mixed messages" she told him "We're both guilty" she went back into him saying, seeing the hurt in his face at her rejection "I believe we can do this"
"Me too" he smiled kissing her forehead "Hot drink?" he asked walking towards the kitchen
"Yeah you know that place better than me" she followed him saying laughing as she found a seat and watched him making drinks and finding cookies for them finally bringing a tray of goodies over for them to nibble and catch up
"It's nearly 4 in the morning" Sam jumped up saying "I've got to be on the road by 11am, I need to get me some shut eye" he smiled "In the morning" he looked at her saying as she got up and made her way towards the stairs too
"Goodnight Sam" she said when she got to her bedroom door "Wake me up before you go" she said before opening the door, sliding into her room and clipping the door shut 'Shit that was hard' she thought as she leaned on the door remembering his touch
'You are so not over her' Sam stood thinking looking at her door
The next morning they woke up had breakfast and at 11am Sam left to make the short journey back to Los Angeles, Mercy saw him off and suddenly they were back in their social media relationship
28 years old
Mercy had been seeing Chris a fine looking brother who was in a band playing the drums, she thought she'd been in love with Glen back then but after nearly a year with Chris she actually started to feel a bit of what love was all about. She was constantly on the phone to Sam bigging this man up
"Sam" she called him one day obviously happy "I think this is it, I think he's going to ask me"
"Really?" he asked he was happy for her somewhere in there and she knew he was but she'd expected him to be a bit frosty after everything they'd been through "Sorry Mercy you just caught me off guard, seriously if this is it I'm happy for you guys" he told her. He'd met Chris maybe three times within the year and every time he felt like he needed to put his boxing gloves on and batter the smile off his smug face
"He sort of hinted at it this morning when he called, he talked about turning a page and we all know what that means"
"We do" Sam finally laughed telling her "You know I'm male of honour?"
"Of course you are, no question" she said before letting out a scream that told him she was excited "Sorry, hows Jessica?"
"She's fine, she's in Nebraska at the moment on location, some horror film she's being, I mean doing, about another 3 weeks before she finishes, I'm starving" he laughed
"I know about that Chris has been on tour for four weeks but he's back tonight and I am so ready for this, I'm so ready Sam" she screamed down the phone
"For food Mercy, starving for food" he laughed all he could hear right now was those words from her song 'In the Name' by LeToya Luckett 'you can lie to yourself' but your heart knows the truth, before asking "Seriously do you love him more than you love me?"
"I won't ever love anyone like I love you Sam, but I like him, a lot"
"Are you pacifying me?" he asked his heart bursting with joy at her words, he still had her
"No I'm telling you the truth that's how we roll isn't it"
"Yeah actually it is so..." he laughed "Jessica's in the past she finished it because she slept with her co-star but she made a special trip to came back and tell me" he told her "I'm never lucky with movie stars you know this"
"Sam" she whined
"I'm not phased, anyway it's good news day if I remember rightly, my best friend has found her best man" he laughed "I'll have a drink for you tonight" he told her "Cheers"
"Cheers" she said laughing "And I'll call you again after it happens" she said as they said their goodbyes "It's sick how close we live and how little we see each other"
"It's called giving space Mercy, you agreed"
"I did, but not too much please, I've got some time off in about a month we must hang"
"It's a date" he laughed
The Next Night
"Sam" Mercy whispered down the phone
"What's up Mercy?" he whispered back "Why are you whispering?"
"I'm in the bathroom and Chris is asleep" she whispered "I just called to tell you he asked and I said yes" she giggled down the phone
"Congratulations" he shouted down the phone "Congratulations" he said again "Now please tell me why that man is asleep in your damn bed right now?" he asked
"Because I've let him have a rest" she laughed
"He needs a rest?" he asked surprised
"Sam" she pouted
"I know what you're capable of" he laughed "Now go wake him up, let him earn it"
"I love you" she told him
"I love you too"
Sam
Sam had met Jessica while he was doing some cartoon strip for an animated film, she was doing a voice over on one of the characters and he was doing graphics. She was one of the few people in the cast around the same age as him, which was an attraction, all his past experiences with actresses should have warned him but it didn't, she acted like she was 8 years younger, acting like a fake celebrity, she was selfish in bed too. So when she announced she was going on location for four months he took a breath, seeing his way out, he was pissed when she actually called him when she got there, even more so when she came back unexpected one evening, he was feeling more depressed than shocked for her appearance
"Sam" she said her eyes filled with tears "I know you're going to dump me for this but I feel like I need to be honest with you, I slept with Victor on set" she blurted out
"Victor" Sam smiled "So what are you expecting me to do about that?" he asked getting up and heading towards the front door, hoping she'd take that as him not giving a fuck
"Well there's more" she got up following him saying "I want to see where it goes with us, I mean Victor and me, we have another 3 months on location and I know myself"
"And now I know you too" he smiled opening his door
"Sorry Sam" she told him as she walked towards the door he held open, turning to kiss him as he gave her his cheek
"Bye" he said as he flicked the door shut, went back to his game and pressed the pause button off 'I need to start caring about this shit' he thought as he pressed the controls
Getting that call from Mercy took the wind out of him, that shit he did care about she's... 'You and me we're bigger than anything else, yeah hope your happy with the decision you made' came to his mind from the demo she'd sent him 'Disconnected' by LeToya Luckett
Mercy
It had been two months since the night of the proposal and Mercy was still on cloud nine, Chris had gone back on his tour two days later and she was constantly on the phone to him about the wedding. They'd decided not to have a long engagement, he wanted things to happen fast, talked about starting a family and wanted her to meet his family the day after he came back from his tour. Mercy had been working hard on her album, playing bits to Sam, he never gave her any bullshit about her work, he cared.
She'd been to meet Chris' family for the weekend as planned, she was concerned they stayed in a hotel near by, leaving late on the Friday and Saturday nights for the hotel
"Why are we not staying at you parents house again?" she'd asked him on their first night there, having seen the house was big enough
"Because I don't want you staying there" he told her with kisses "We need to make some noise" he told her making her laugh
Saturday when they got to his family home everyone was acting shady, but she didn't feel it was her place to mention it, on day three the family actually came to the hotel to see them off, Mercy felt like they'd left like thieves in the night, everything felt so undercover
"Chris" she said on day two back from the visit as she watched him packing for another trip "What was all the shadiness about with your family?" she hugged him asking, her chin on his shoulder as she watched what he was sitting doing
"Family stuff babe"
"I'm going to be family ain't I?"
"Yeah but you don't need to know that family stuff" he told her as they heard the door knock
"I'll get it" she said jumping off the bed
"What the fuck were you doing at my parents house" Mercy heard someone shout as soon as she opened the door watching it fly open with the force the woman pushed it, making her stumble backwards
"Who are you?" she asked still backing away from the aggressive, offensive woman
"What the fuck were you doing at my parents house?" she asked again
Mercy could only assume this was Chris' sister "I went with Chris to go meet the family, we're getting married" she told her still backing away from the woman coming towards her
"Getting married?" the woman asked as she looked up the stairs, Mercy looked to see Chris standing at the top of the stairs
"Chris" she shouted expecting him to come down and sort this out
"Chris" the lady mimicked her saying "One step, that's all I need you to take Mr and if it's not out this damn door" she warned "And you" she looked at Mercy saying "Had better get my husbands name out your damn mouth" she said slapping her so hard across the face Mercy fell to the floor. She was caught off guard the next thing she knew she was getting beaten and as far as she could tell Chris was standing at the top of the stairs watching it all
"Theresa" she heard Chris finally shout and suddenly there was no more kicking, she looked up to see him holding her, saw her chance, got up and ran
"Take your hands off me" she heard this woman Theresa say and when she looked back she was making chase up the stairs, Mercy ran to her bedroom grabbed her phone and made for her bathroom locking the door. Blood dripping from cuts on her face swollen lips and a definite black eye on the rise she could do nothing but cry 'What the fuck am I doing here' she looked around the bathroom asking as she opened the phone to make a call
Sam & Mercy
"Sam" Mercy cried down the phone as she sat on her bathroom floor "Come get me please" she finally got out to a panicking Sam
"Mercy what's up?" he shouted "Mercy what's up, hold up I'm coming" he said dropping everything and jumping in his car to get to Beverly Hills as fast as he could. Twenty minutes later Sam was letting himself into Mercy's house "Mercy" he ran through the house shouting "Mercy" he called panicked for seeing the disturbed furniture in the house "The bathroom" he told himself as he remembered where he told her to be in any emergency and ran to her room "Mercy it's Sam" he said as the door opened "My God Mercy what happened?" he asked his blood boiling at the sight of her all beaten and bruised, as she flopped into his chest
"I loved him Sam" she cried "He made me love him" she wailed so hard Sam felt her hurt, suddenly he wanted to question her use of the word love as he looked at what this damn man had done, but her shuddering body in his arms made him hug her instead
"I'm calling the police" he said, pulling his phone out
"No police Sam please, it was his wife that did this to me"
"He's married?" Sam asked shocked "He asked you to..." he stopped himself from stating the obvious "Come on get in the bath" he said running her a bath before taking her clothes off and lifting her into it, he sat on the side looking at her bruised body "Do you need a hospital?"
"No I'm fine just my prides hurt and my body bruised" she said touching her face "Thanks for coming I didn't have anyone else to call"
"I don't want you to have anyone else to call" he told her kissing her forehead "I'm going to clean up, I'll be back up in a bit"
"Check the closet and shut the bedroom door" she instructed him as he got up to go clean up downstairs
"Pack some things" he told her as he left
He cleaned up, she got dressed and they were parked outside his flat within the hour "Come on lets get something to eat and get you laying down" he told her as he carried her case in
They were sitting on the couch when Mercy started crying again "I told my parents about that bastard and now I got to explain all this shit to them" she cried "I feel so fucking stupid, how did I not see a fucking wife?" she asked him, he had no answers all he could do was hold her "Why do I keep picking these messed up guys?" she cried "He's never going to find anyone to love him like I did" she hugged Sam saying
"I know" he said, hugging until they fell asleep on the couch, waking up late evening, ordering food and watching old films until bed time
29 years old
"Mercy" Sam said all excited over the phone some months later "I think your right she is different, I don't want her too far away from me she loves me, I think this is her Mercy" he told her as she stood smiling on the other end of the phone "I think she gets me" he giggled
"I can hear that Mr, Congratulations, are you going to pop the question?"
"I have, it just came out, in that moment you know, it just felt right, I'm waiting for her answer" he laughed
"What she didn't answer you there and then?"
"No she said she needed to think about it but it wasn't a definite no"
"Sam everything's crossed it's a definite yes I feel it, you deserve this" she squealed back at him "I'm best woman yeah?"
"For sure"
"It's been hard to get anyone even a little close to what I feel for you, you know that right and Kelly well she's well..."
"I know" Mercy laughed
"I should have known she was it when you picked her out for me, I'm so ready for this Mercy, I'm pumped"
"Go get your girl Mr" she giggled "And hey, none of our moves" she told him "Sam?" she asked "Seriously do you love her ..."
"Never more than you babe, nowhere near" he told her before hanging up
Mercy
"Anthony was a nice enough guy she'd only been seeing him a few weeks, it had taken her nearly a year to get over Chris and his damn wife business, thankfully he'd stayed away, she'd met Anthony in New York at her last concert. She was trying a long distance relationship this time, truth she was guarding her heart, she didn't want the attachment and everything that brought with it. She was fast forgetting the marriage, family thing, there were no good men left, that she wanted anyway, she didn't love him, had no intention of loving him, and because of that sex was a no go
Donald, her new Agent was seriously putting in the hours, Sandra had hired a new Publicist for her and he was making sure everyone earned their pennies, she liked him. "Donald I need to get busy, I mean real busy over the next few months maybe a year but I will need time out at some point for a friends wedding" she told him over the phone as she lay in her bath tub soaking, practising her new song 'Disconnected' by LeToya Luckett she got out the bath and fell into bed falling asleep with the song in her head "He's gone" she jumped out of her sleep saying for her realisation that Sam was actually getting married "But this means something has to change for us, his life starts when he marries Kelly, and my life ends, we disconnect" she flopped back on her bed saying "And that means I need to have this fucking stop what we're doing conversation with him" her heart sank even more
Four Months Later
"Mercy" Sam said nervously over the phone
"Long time Mr, hows the wedding plans going?"
"My head is crazy with that damn stuff, I just needed to speak to you, I should have come to yours really but I guess I ..." he stopped himself saying "it's easier by phone"
"I meant to come see you and Kelly, I needed to have a conversation with you too" she filled his uneasy gap with
"How's Anthony?"
"Still long distance, still nothing" she sighed
"Crazy stuff happening for me right now Mercy, I'm getting vibes from this woman I shouldn't be getting at this point" he told her concerned
"What's happened Sam?"
"Seriously I'm with her and I'm still lonely, she don't... like the same things as me, I'm in bed with her and all I'm doing is comparing her to you in every fucking way, sex is sex we're not making love I guess... she's just not you Mercy"
"Sam" she said upset "That's because she's Kelly come on, you asked her to marry you"
"Mercy you know me if I could help this I would, and I can't go into this with her, thinking about another woman; thinking about you"
"Sam" she blew out saying wishing she could lie to him right now, but that wasn't them "I'm still lonely too" she said rolling her eyes "I miss you like crazy and I'm jealous of Kelly, it's all wrong, I don't want Anthony touching me because he's not you, and on top of it all we made this agreement"
"The fucking agreement" he said and she knew he was rolling his eyes "I just called to say I'm calling the wedding off"
"Are you sure about that?" she asked her voice begging him to reconsider
"Really?" he asked a comical laugh in his voice for her just saying what she'd said and then begging him to marry someone else "it's off Mercy" he said putting the phone down as Mercy stood looking at the dead phone
"I'm a fucking home wrecker" she cried into her hands
Sam
Sam wanted to slap himself for leaving things this long with Mercy, 'I've waited for her from I was 17 through to 22, and couldn't believe it when she walked into my studio flat saying she wanted to call me out on that promise. We had the most beautiful, restless, romantic, exhausting, breathless four weeks, we went for as many firsts as we could think of "It was perfect" he smiled 'But I should have slapped her or something when she came at me with that fucking Ryan shit instead I just thought it evened the game up, she threw at me I threw back, how long did we really think this game was going to last' "It stops now because I need to stop feeling numb" he said taking his phone out, the words of Mercy's song 'My Love' by LeToya Luckett going through his head "I won't give it up, I wont give anybody else my love" he sung as he waited for the call to pick up "Mercy, my head's crazy with this damn stuff..."
"Kelly we need to talk can you come round?" he asked throwing the phone down some two days after his conversation with Mercy "Hi" he said 10 minutes later when she finally got there laden with food and drink "You didn't need to bring all this" he looked at her saying, helping her with the load
"Thought we were having a dirty night in, booty call and all that" she laughed, going in for a kiss he didn't give
"No" he said putting the goods on the table in front of them as they both sat down "Nothing like that" he said his face telling her she needed to listen to this
"What's up Sam?"
"First off it's not your fault it's definitely all mine" he looked at her saying, watching her face brake like shattering glass at what he was about to say "And I'm not saying I don't want us to be together, I know I asked but I need to take it back, I don't want to get..." he got out before he felt a sting on his cheek "Married" he rubbed his face saying "I deserve that"
"What's changed?" she screamed at him "It's fucking Mercy isn't it, she still loves you?"
"I could take the easy way out here and say yes because I know somewhere inside her she does, but no it's me, I still love her" he told her to another slap "You could slap about this all night but I'll still feel the same and it really wouldn't be fair going into this with you having her heavy in my heart, I've loved her since I was 17 and I really don't want it to go away"
"I bet she was happy to hear that?" she cried at him
"She was upset actually" he looked at her saying "Whatever it is that's in my head she's against it, believe" he told her "She had high hopes for us" he smiled. There was a lot more crying, shouting then talking before Kelly finally calmed down and accepted the new situation she'd found herself in, opting to end things now, she packed her few belongings and left
Mercy
Yeah it was time for her to be a woman about this and admit what was happening for her, 'I've spent so many years watching Sam with girls I've come to believe that life was meant to be that way for us. He hadn't even flinched when I told him about Ryan after we'd spent a month in a bedroom together getting all our firsts out the way, I remember he smiled 'Are you happy?' he'd asked me like he didn't even care about what I did, things just turned into a game after that. Well 7 years is a long time to play a game, and instead of having a normal game board we've used the world and the people in it "It stops now agreement or not we need to work this out" she said "I won't give it up, I wont give anybody else my love" she sang picking up the phone
"Mercy I can't really talk right now" Anthony said as he answered "Will you send me a text?" he said putting the phone down before she could even speak
"It's not working, lets call it a day" she wrote looked at it for a second and then sent it, and that was it, over
Sam and Mercy
"Mercy" Sam said when she finally answered his call on the fourth try "Why won't you talk to me?"
"I can't talk to you just now Sam, this whole thing is such a mess, give me a couple of days and I'll get back to you"
"It's our birthday next weekend we need to sort this out before then, I'll forget everything especially if it means losing you" he told her
"Sam, I'll get back to you" she sighed
"Okay" he said hearing the pissed off in her voice
"We'll speak soon" she told him clicking the phone off, both sat looking at their phones, they needed their best friend, now
30 years old
'Mercy you've changed the locks, you're not answering my calls and you've flown off without telling me where the hell you've gone, what are you playing at?' he sapped her saying. She hadn't gotten back to him before their birthday in fact she'd gone underground, and stayed there for nearing three weeks, he finally found out she was in Canada doing some random gig and he would have followed her there only he'd been called to Berlin to do some work for a month and the only communication they had was phone, she was blocking everything, he was so frustrated he wanted to smash something. Laying in his hotel bed looking at her on screen singing her latest hit made him smile, she was singing 'Higher' by LeToya Luckett, talking about her body being under his control and overdosing on one more hit, him being her supplier "Fuck this agreement shit" she was singing about wanting him as much as he wanted her, he smiled at her message. 'She always found it hard to just say yes, he understood why that was, it would break her if he was the one to betray her and he kept messing with these women to prove what? "I need a next level game play" he said out loud
He picked his phone up to see Mercy's name as his phone started vibrating before her ringtone started playing, he toyed with not answering before he remembered he'd just told himself to stop the games and answered "Mercy" he said waiting for her to speak
"Sam I just got back, will you come to mine when you get back please, I'm ready to talk?"
"Yeah I've been ready to talk for a while" he said trying to keep his tone even, not wanting to rock the boat till they were face to face "Oh happy belated birthday by the way"
"Yeah thanks" she giggled "Happy belated birthday to you too"
"Is someone there?" he asked sitting up in his bed
"We'll talk when you get here, when are you back" she asked giggling again
"Two days, see you then" he said, slamming the phone down, he couldn't believe they'd left things the way they had and she'd gone off and found some Joe, 'now she was going to pretend he was it' his mind was all over the place for the next two days
Two days Later
"Mercy" Sam opened the already unlocked door shouting, just by that move he knew she wasn't alone in the house "Mercy" he shouted again
"Through here Sam" she shouted from the garden "Just in time" she went to him giving him a kiss and going to the drinks trolley "Drink?" she asked, as if she hadn't just blanked him for a month
"I can get my own drink"
"Do that" she said diverting to the chairs on the patio "And come sit with me, as I said we need to talk" Sam didn't like this one bit she was too jolly, something was happening
"Okay talk" he sat next to her saying still looking about, waiting for some man to jump out the woodwork and he wasn't sure how he was going to handle it, he took a sip of his drink before putting it on the table in front of them
"Sam" she said grabbing his hand for the let down "You know we've always talked about the future and all that stuff together?"
"Yeah" he looked at her fingers rubbing his hand as she spoke 'Something is definitely going down she's fucking married' he thought pulling his hand away "Mercy what's up, what are you trying to say?" he made to stand saying but she pulled him back down "Damn" he squeezed through his teeth agitated "What's up?" his eye catching their necklace still around her neck, her hand stroking him, suddenly it felt like a safe place
"Well we both know you can't predict the future, maybe the reason we can't settle, love or just be friends is because.."
"We are friends, before we were anything else we were friends" he told her "We need to hold onto that"
"Yeah we do" she grabbed his eyes with hers saying "I'm not doing well" she said a definite blush on her face "What if I asked you to marry me, right here, right now, what would you say?" she asked, Sam was stunned "What if we just stopped all these games we play with each other, we seriously don't know what tomorrow will bring, but surely it will be much better than today if, well if" she paused looking at him with hope in her eyes "We were together" she looked at him saying, he was in a zone and it wasn't the friend one
"Did you just ask me to marry you?" he asked when he realised there was silence
"I know I'm asking you to break our agreement but if we both cancel it out surely we can overlook it this once?"
"Cancelled, overlooked, hell yes" he grabbed hold of her saying "I love you Mercy Jones, you know I always have, and I'd have married you 13 years ago, if you'd have let me" he laughed
"I love you too" she said grabbing his face for a kiss "Just one thing" she pulled away from him saying "I mean to get married today"
"Mercy there's so much to do before we can get married, our parents would kill me if they didn't get in on this and you know that" he smiled pulling her back in, his lips begging to be touched by hers as Mercy closed her eyes and fell into the kiss
"You're right we would" he heard making him jump so hard Mercy's mouth nearly ripped a hole in his tongue
"Mom, Dad" he said looking at them eager to greet, as his eyes widened for seeing his siblings, Mercy's family and some of the guys from club at school "Wow" he said once everyone was standing in front of him
"I thought an intimate wedding with family and a few friends, you've got two hours to get ready everything's upstairs, courtesy of Blaine and Mike" she laughed, he kissed her before making his way up to get dressed and she finally did the same
"Sam watched as Mercy danced down the makeshift aisle, smiling when he heard the familiar music playing, bending to see Mercy singing 'I'm Ready' by LeToya Luckett the song she sang when she came to see him when they were 22, they'd recorded it and she played it repeatedly. He smiled more when he remembered her telling, no, demanding him to never love anyone like he'd loved her, he already knew he wouldn't that shit had already lasted 5 years, it was going nowhere.
She looked beautiful in her wedding dress, exceptionally beautiful 'she knows' he told himself 'she loves me back' he puffed his chest thinking 'Shit I don't have a ring, how could I not have a damn ring' he looked around panicking, Mercy's voice bringing him back to the festivities as he focused in her face bringing a smile to his as she stood not far singing 'I'm so ready, yeah I'm ready, and I'll do what you want' baby' she sang as she stood by his side
"You look beautiful" he hugged her saying "And I am so ready for this too, I love you"
"I love you too and that's a next page ready I hope"
The service was a silent hum in his ear, he remembered being asked if he had anything to say and shook his head "Standing here doing this means it says everything for me" he told their guests turning back to the priest for the ceremony to commence, Mercy just smiled when they asked her
"You heard the man" she told the priest as everyone laughed
At one point Mercy looked over his shoulder and he would have turned to look but he really didn't want to miss one word her face was saying, until he felt someone tap him turning he saw Mike standing with a box in his hand and assumed it was the ring, so he took it off him smiling
"I now pronounce you Man and Wife" he heard he didn't wait for anything else, it took a while for them to come back down to earth
At the reception for their first dance he got them to play 'Crazy Love' by Van Morrison for her a definite reminder of the month long firsts they had all those years ago "I'm picking up where we left off" he whispered in her ear
"Promise?" she asked her eyes full of fire for him
"I think after what we both just said in front of our families, that's a given" he said before kissing her
The End